Warm up to Winter Knit Along!

it's here!!!!! the "warm up to winter knit along"!!!! yippee!!! rebecca and i have been so excited to announce the new kal to you talented ladies!  the latest knit along is dedicated to hats and mitts!  let's cover those noggins, hands and sometimes fingertips!  choose some luxurious yarn, pick out a bright color or hit your stash and stick to a neutral...no matter what it is there is sure to be a project/yarn for everyone in this kal!   this one is near and dear to my heart because i LOOOOVVVEEEE toques (hats) and fingerless mitts! love em'!

now don't stress out...you don't have to do both a hat and mitts but you can if you wanna.  we are all for knitting up a storm :)  rebecca from the blog nook and i have partnered up again for this kal and we thought we would leave that part up to you lovely ladies.  make both if you get your groove on or make just the mitts or just a hat...the important part is we want you to pick up those sticks and get knitting with us!  i'm sure some of you will make 3 hats and 2 mitts...lol..(hannah you know who you are...hehehe). hats are a great beginner project so don't be scared if you are just starting out!  there are also a ton of great beginner gloves and fingerless mitt patterns out there as well.  whether you are using 2.25mm needles or 8mm, fingering weight or chunky yarn let's all have some fun and learn to embrace and warm up to winter!!!!  honestly...who doesn't look awesome rocking a cool slouch hat and cabled mitts?  i can't think of one person!  i get sad when i can't sport my hat on a daily basis cause the weather warms up.  we've got lots of fun posts planned (some starring you guys of course) and even a few prizes! woot woot!

pattern: yarn basket by pickles

 the ravelry group thread is a super fun place to come chat, share your project pics, ask questions and just have a good time.  ravelry is like facebook for knitters but way better :)  it feeds our addiction..lol.  it's free to join and if you haven't already you should.  it's a great resource for knowledge, patterns and inspiration.  you can find me under "luvinthemommyhood" and my partner for this kal rebecca under "gundyknitter".

need some inspiration?  here's some of the patterns i'm currently drooling over!  i've got some yarn in my stash that i am looking to get through so i'm trying to decide which one to make based on my yarn stash and my hat/glove needs :)  ravelry is what i use to find patterns and yarn most of the time.  it's a great way to find patterns based on your yarn stash.  using their advanced pattern search section you can whittle down patterns available based on the yardage you have, weight of yarn, free/not free, size, age...and the list goes on.  i'm addicted to it.  or you can find a pattern you like and then click on the tab above it that says yarn ideas and see what others have been using and what their projects look like if you're in need of some yarn inspiration.  but make sure when you're getting ready to start to check your gauge.  i know....a lot of us hate swatching but it's important....here's a handy post on gauge and on yarn choices. ok...you ready...here's my top 9 for today...seriously...they change daily. too.  many. awesome.  patterns.

hats.....

1. here and there hat 2. warm winter pom pom hat 3. simple slouch hat

4. modern rib hat 5. dottie  6. kathleen

7. norby 8. waffel hat 9. rosebud hat

mitts......

1. muckle mitts  2. camp out fingerless mitts  3. sabrina mitts

4. podster gloves  5. catching butterflies  6. fallberry mitts

7. grove 8. nalu mitts  9. commuter fingerless mittens

 wanna join in?  here's the deets....click the link below to enter the knit along:

warm up to winter knit along sign up

start date: january 11, 2012 (but you can join in anytime before the deadline)
finish date: february 8th, 2012
* please note you must sign up to be entered into any giveaways.

all posts can be found here and the thread for the knit along can be found in the luvinthemommyhood ravelry group here! 

when you are done your hats and/or mitts please post your finished pics in either our ravelry group thread or our flickr group so we can drool over your fab work!

also don't forget that one of my besties rebecca from the blog "nook" will be guest posting and helping me out here and there throughout the knit along.  she'll be assisting with helping answer questions in the forum and on the blog.  so feel free to ask her anything that has to do with all things knitting!  she's a knitting instructor and one smart cookie!  make sure to pop on over to check out her roundup of hats/mitts today too!  a big advance thank you to her for helping me out with the kal - i appreciate it my dear! luv ya to bits!

and grab a button to show your luv here or from the sidebar.

<a href="http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/search/label/mommyhood%20KAL" target="_blank"><img alt="luvinthemommyhood" src="http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p330/shannonandjeremy/kal.jpg" /></a>

so excited to see all the lovelies that you guys are gonna whip up!  i can only imagine the patterns and yarns already!  becca and i hope you all have fun!  so grab a cup of coffee, grab that fave hat or mitt pattern and get swatching...it's knitting time!!! go kal go!